Helmed by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though slight first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (the actor) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own family home. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his normal activities. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
There is only one important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film releases in UK and Irish theaters from 17 November.
